Sportonomics: Rugby Canada hopes Under Armour can boost its brand

Canada’s rising rugby program teams with Under Armour, hoping to benefit from the company’s equipment and expertise.

Rugby Canada has spent the last few years building a track record — heading into this Saturday’s game against Scotland at BMO Field, the men’s national team is ranked 16th in the world. And the organization has built a following — officials expect a near-sellout Saturday, in stark contrast to the half-empty stadiums of the past.

But building the brand is a bigger challenge.

Squads such as New Zealand’s All-Blacks and Australia’s Wallabies function in the rugby world the way the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox do in Major League Baseball, as successful programs and recognizable brands that reach beyond the field. The All-Blacks’ pre-game war dance, the Haka, blends competition and showmanship in a way that attracts audiences beyond rugby’s niche.

Canada lacks that pedigree, but hopes an enhanced partnership with U.S. apparel maker Under Armour will increase the program’s visibility and brand equity. In May, Under Armour signed on to provide the game uniforms for Canada’s national rugby teams, providing a marketing boost along with technologically advanced uniforms.

“They’re a known brand, which is fantastic,” says Rugby Ontario president David Nelson. “In the old days with the heavy cotton (jerseys), when they got wet it was like carrying 600 pounds extra. The technology they put in these things is staggering.”

For the first decade of its relationship with Rugby Canada, Under Armour has lived up the original meaning of the company name, providing base-layer clothing while Kooga supplied the uniforms. The new uniforms won’t make Canada’s players any faster or stronger, but their snug fit is aimed at making players tougher to tackle.

“We can’t just come up with a regular old, Plain Jane jersey and put a logo on it,” says Corey Friesen, marketing director for Under Armour Canada. “It’s a tight fabric, it has a stiffness to it and you can’t grab a handful of it.”

The new uniforms don’t guarantee Canadians will play better rugby. Under Armour’s reputation as a high-performance apparel maker suffered dents during this year’s Winter Olympics, when the company’s suits were cited as a main factor in the poor performance of U.S. speed skaters.

But after the games, U.S. Speedskating renewed its partnership for eight more years, and Rugby Canada has added Under Armour’s logo to its uniform just as the company’s profile is set to rise again.

Last week, analysts at Jeffries Group upgraded Under Armour stock from “hold” to “buy,” projecting shares that traded for just over $56 on Monday morning would climb to $65. The Maryland-based manufacturer received an even stronger endorsement when billionaire investor Warren Buffett bought 8.8 million shares.

While those moves don’t affect Rugby Canada directly, the organization does benefit from the marketing muscle that helped Under Armour grow from the small apparel maker that CEO Kevin Plank started in the basement of his grandmother’s house to a publicly traded company with a market capitalization $12 billion (U.S.).

Jeffries’ report notes that among younger consumers of athletic performance gear, Under Armour’s brand is as recognizable as Nike’s.

In partnering with Rugby Canada and the Welsh Rugby Union, Under Armour also becomes a player in yet another Olympic sport. Rugby Sevens, a scaled-down version of the game Team Canada will play this Saturday, debuts at the Rio de Janeiro games in 2016.

“When Canada’s competing in Rugby Sevens, these guys are going to be wearing an Under Armour uniform,” says Sunny Pathak, president of the sports marketing firm SOS Media. “That’s what Under Armour is interested in buying. This is a space for them to be highlighted in. This is a strong, strategic play.”

Much of Under Armour’s early marketing success was built on commercials that featured musclebound actors who looked the part of football stars, decked out in lycra gear that played up their physiques and chanting a phrase that would become a rallying cry: “Protect This House.”

That type of high-volume, hypermasculine swagger grabbed attention for Under Armour and fits in alongside the Haka. But Pathak doesn’t think adopting a signature battle chant would give Canada’s rugby teams a similar branding boost.

“What the All-Blacks have done is very unique and traditional to their market,” he says. “For Canadians to do something along those lines doesn’t really speak to Rugby Canada.”